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The Newbie's Guide to Tsundere

The Newbies Guide to Tsundereaka "You're A Bitch At Times But I Love You"by Ariolander, Hentai PhD.

Introduction

The online community of anime fans has its own language of sorts with terms like Moé, GAR, Yandere, Trap, and Fap being thrown around with many not knowing what they are or where they come from. Some are imported from our Japanese counterparts, some are onomatopoeias popularized by webcomics, and in an effort to fight off the ignorance, ???-looks, and misuse of these terms I present to you part two of this series.

And note these terms should not limited to the hardcore and *ack* the weeaboo. Read any halfway credible anime blog IE not that the cooperate spin that is AnimeNewsNetwork and these terms come up... Ignorance should not be encouraged nor knowledge poked fun at. Sometimes the only way to express a Japanese concept is with the Japanese word so off we go! [/rant]

Warning: Wikipedia is wrong! Never Wikipedia this term.
It is horribly inadequate and terribly inaccurate.

Definition:

Main Entry: tsundere
Pronunciation: \ˈtsün-derē\
Function: noun
Source: Japan
Era: Modern
A character, usually female, who runs 'hot and cold going from aggressive and confrontational to affectionate and sentimental.

"Often people confuse the relationship-type 'tsundere' with the crazy-type 'bi-polar' 0.o;;"

The Orgins:

Tsundere is actually a combination of two different words - tsuntsun and deredere.

Tsuntsun refers to being egoistic, hostile, tough. A tsuntsun would be one who always seems moody or angry and never shows any sign of hesitation or weakness.
An example of a tsuntsun character is Suzumiya Haruhi.

Deredere is the opposite of tsuntsun. The deredere characters that are often uncertain and need a push to get going.
An example of a deredere character is Mikuru from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

The Term:

There are actually two different applications the traditional which is a relationship-type and the more modern (and in my view incorrect) which is a character-type.

Traditional Tsundere is actually a term that describes a relationship-type or personality progrssion through the course of a relationship. In a traditional tsundere typically they will start out as a tsuntsun and end up as a deredere.
An example of a traditional tsundere character is Shana from Shakugan no Shana

Modern tsundere describes more of a personality-type where characters run 'both hot and cold' switching to and from tsuntsun and deredere modes. Though not exactly incorrect as it still applies my issues with the modern usage of this term is this is probably the most often misused animu term I know.

Archtypes of Tsundere:

Generally tsunderes manifest themelves on one of three ways, though there are a few whom have been known to go overboard and rotate between all three depending on the occasion.

The Cold Shoulder: In employing this tactic, the tsundere resolves to not give the man in question the time of day. If she does talk to him, responses will be monosyllabic. Pointedly ignoring him in conversation and disdainful looks round out the total freeze she will lay on the dude.
Example of a tsundere who favors this tactic: Genshiken's Chika Ogiue.

The Violent Approach: Things get physical, and not in the good way. The tsundere, in a bad mood by this point, will punctuate verbal abuse with plenty of good old fashioned violence. Kicks, punches, and other painful forms of beatdown will follow.
Example of a tsundere who favors this tactic: Ranma 1/2's Akane Tendo.

The Smirk: Not as common a tactic, but effective in its own right, is for the tsundere to constantly belittle the love interest with sarcasm and putdowns. Tsunderes who know the guy's point of pride will not hesitate to insult him on that account, and when this tactic is employed nothing the guy can do will be good enough to impress her.
Example of a tsundere who favors this tactic: Neon Genesis Evangelion's Asuka Langley Soryuu.

The Examination:

The reasons behind a Tsundere's behavior vary, but typically rise from the conflict between her feelings about the object of her affections, and her reaction to having them. This can be as simple as embarrassment, or frustration at being so attached to that boy, particularly if he has certain personality quirks or behaviors that infuriate her.

As a series progresses the traditional tsundere's changes will be more profound because as the traditional tsundere works through her problems her character becomes more dynamic and her character towards the end of a series will stand in stark contrast to her in the beginning.

The modern tsundere is more cyclical rather that some steady progression modern tsunderes move back and forth and often end much as they began or severly hinder their own relationship-progression and if they go anywhere at all much of the pressure is on the male. The modern tsundere's application is VERY complex so for those who would like to know more I will append another post explaining it using some trigonometry and simple graphs for those of you not into math. [continuation post]

Important Note: Tsunderes may seem endearing when observed in a third-person point of view , or in fictional situations (why we like em), but may be considered as aggressive, unfriendly, or a downright bitch when experienced in person.

In Summary:

Tsundere is an easy enough concept to understand. The girl is initially cold to the protagonist, but gradually warms up to him and if it is a more modern tsundere she will revert back and repeat the process. There are also male tsunderes but they are few and far between. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Li Syaoran.

Some say that every woman in anime is tsundere. I disagree and say that there are the Yandere to consider too!

Not entirely accurate and I am unsure how to graph a traditional tsundere but tj_han did a good job with this graph. Actually he did such a good job unlike the copy-pasta above I don't need to edit it at all...

If you don’t understand such a simple diagram, you must either stupid or an artist. If you’re the latter, let me teach you this fancy thing you will never have learnt in school called math.

See, we have a sine curve. It starts at 0, when the x-axis of the graph (labeled as time in this case) is 0. Then it oscillates between 1 and -1 in a smooth series of crests and troughs. Sounds familiar right? Sounds like a TSUNDERE! Just like how everyone’s favourite anime character type swings between angry/violent and lovely. But the thing is, most tsunderes are far more polar than a 1 and -1, so adding a 3 in front of the sinx curve increases the amplitude by a factor of 3. This is in stark contrast to a NORMAL girl (there are no normal girls in anime, but let’s just assume normal as someone without insane mood swings). A normal girl has a graph of y=1, which is a straight, horizontal line. It does not ever go into the negative regions and is really steady.

I forget to mention that here we use Happiness as the y axis.

So, in other words, a normal girl will never give you as much happiness as a tsundere in terms of the absolute greatest at one time. See how the tsundere graph reaches 3, while the normal graph is permanently at 1.The catch is that a tsundere also has just as many -3s as 3s. For people who have tasted the tsundere not as an onlooker but in the actual relationship, he will find himself suffering a lot yet really sticking with her for the +3 moments. Such a person might find a normal girl boring as the happiness never reaches that high a level.

Our 3rd graph shows an onlooker guy viewing a tsundere girl wreaking destruction onto a hapless male. This is like most otakus who watch shows like Tsuyokiss or even Haruhi. To onlookers, they do not suffer the wrath of the tsundere, so to them, even the -3s are just as nice, interesting and sweet as the 3s. Haruhi making Kyon carry stuff and do work is sweet right? Since we aren’t the ones doing the work. So their graph is an absolute |3sinx|, where the negative sections are made positive as well. This is why tsunderes are great to watch in shows.

Wow this is the power of math!!

Also note that though a modern tsundere shifts from tsuntsun to deredere that does NOT mean they are bi-polar aka manic depressive.

And note these terms should not limited to the hardcore and *ack* the weeaboo. Read any halfway credible anime blog IE not that the cooperate spin that is AnimeNewsNetwork and these terms come up... Ignorance should not be encouraged nor knowledge poked fun at. Sometimes the only way to express a Japanese concept is with the Japanese word so off we go! [/rant]

Trust me, I sure know when to use such terms and where they are used and when. (eventhough I didn't know about Yandere >_>; which i didnt bother looking up)

I was just pointing at your post that you look like some 4chan dude acting all high because others don't really know the terms.

YOU made it sound like the average anime watcher has to know these terms, or else they're doomed or something.

That post of mine wasn't a rant on the terms, but a rant on your post...

There's another type of Tsundere that has been shown in some h-games. This is the type that is a cold bitch in public when she thinks others will think badly of her or something like that, and then really warm and sweet in private. Sometimes a traditional Tsundere will exhibit these traits in the transition between cold bitch and warm fuck dummy.